OMAHA, Neb (KMTV)
- The community center focuses on helping refugee youth
- The center's plan aims to serve more kids
- Video shows the facility in South Omaha
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
A non-profit that's been helping kids in Omaha is looking to expand its footprint. Its a community center for youth called The Simple Foundation. I'm Maria Osnaya your neighborhood reporter where representatives at the center told me about the after school programs and more.
It's a place where kids go to train, learn, play, and relax, after school hours. The center focuses on helping kids from low-income and refugee families.
They offer opportunities for kids to play sports and get help with school work. They also have entrepreneurship and life skills programs, college prep and even help teens get connected to internships.
College student Abdeillahi Adan, grew up as a refugee from Kenya and now volunteers as a mentor. He says, "a lot of people can feel like homesick or feel like they don't belong, after a really big culture change like that, so I feel like it's important to have a place that you feel comfortable."
He says the diverse environment is part of their impact. "It'll teach them that "oh no matter where I'm from, no matter what skin tone I am, we're just all people and we're all just having fun together," says Adan
The center has been around for over 25 years, but founder Osuman Issaka says there's a spike in the amount of people needing help. "Year to year we've seen an increase between 25-30 percent," says Issaka.
He told me they plan to add a technology room with the grant they received at Best Buy, and the organization is working on building renovations to keep up with the growing demand.
Staff at the center say they have kids from 50 different countries and hope the renovations can help assist more.
